1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to both method and apparatus for irradiating blood with ultraviolet radiation, and more particularly to such method and apparatus for in vitro radiation of blood from both humans and animals with stored blood or blood circulated outside the patient and returned to the patient after treatment.
2. Related Art
The present status of blood irradiation treatment is exemplified by the following patents.
(1) U.S. Pat. No. 1,200,940; Henri et al.; "Apparatus for treatment of Water and Other Liquids by Ultra Violet Rays: wherein water is sterilized by exposure to ultra-violet rays from a source above or within the water.
(2) U.S. Pat. No. 1,683,877; Edblom et al.; "Means for Treating Blood Stream Infections", wherein the apparatus used is a veni-puncture needle inserted into the patient's vein and the butt end of the needle is attached to tubing into which a container of citrate or oxylate solution is connected. A transfusion pump is attached to the other end of the tubing and the outlet of the pump is connected to an exposure chamber covered by a quartz lens. The source generates rays between 1800-4000 Angstroms.
(3) U.S. Pat. No. 2,074,909; Herzig et al.; "Activation Device for the Heliopyretic Treatment of Matter"; wherein a plurality of parallel radio-active penetrable tubes mounted in a frame are adapted to convey fluid to be exposed to the rays from quartz tubes and a reflector adjustable mounted in the frame to focus the rays.
(4) U.S. Pat. No. 2,308,516; Knott; "Method and Means for Irradiating Blood"; wherein a quantity of blood is removed from the patient, passed through a chamber where the blood is exposed to ultra-violet radiation for a brief, accurately controlled time and returned to said circulatory system.
(5) U.S. Pat. No. 2,309,124; Knott; "Ultra-Violet Exposure Chamber"; wherein a chambered receptacle having a series of passageways extending transversely of the chamber and a series of spirally twisted devices lie centrally of the transverse passageways to produce turbulence in the blood flow through the chambered receptacle.
(6) U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,919; Edelson; "Method and Apparatus for Externally Treating Human Blood"; wherein in a method for reducing the lymphocyte population by withdrawing blood from the subject, flowing the blood stream through a treatment station transparent to UV radiation and irradiating the blood stream in the treatment station with UV radiation in the presence of about 1 nanogram to micrograms of a dissolved psoralen capable of bonding the psoralen and the lymphocytes.
(7) U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,906; Edelson; "Method of Externally Treating the Blood"; wherein the functioning population of nucleated cells in the blood supply of a human subject by withdrawing blood from the subject and irradiating the withdrawn blood with UV radiation in the presence of an effective amount of a dissolved chemical agent having an affinity for the nucleic acid of the nucleated blood cells to form photo-adducts with DNA to thereby effect chemical bonding between the photoactive chemical agent and the nucleic acid of the nucleated cells.
(8) U.S. Pat. No. 4,464,166; Edelson; "Method for Externally Treating the Blood"; wherein the functioning population of a nucleated cell in the blood supply of a human subject by withdrawing blood from the subject and irradiating the withdrawn blood with UV radiation in the presence of a dissolved photoactivated antibody specific for the nucleated blood cell to form photoadducts with the nucleated blood cells to thereby effect chemical bonding between the photoactivated antibody and the nucleated cells.
(9) U.S. Pat. No. 4,612,007; Edelson; "Method and System for Externally Treating the Blood"; wherein the functioning population of a blood constituent in the blood supply of a human subject by irradiating withdrawn blood by UV radiation in the presence of an effective amount of a dissolved photoactive chemical agent specific for a receptor site in the blood constituent and capable when activated by UV radiation of forming photo-adducts with blood constituent receptor sites, to thereby effect chemical bonding between the photoactivated chemical agent and the receptor sites.
(10) U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,322; Edelson; "Method and System for Externally Treating the Blood"; wherein the functioning population of a blood constituent in the blood supply of a human subject is reduced by treating withdrawn blood by subjecting it to a density gradient to effect a substantial separation of the red blood cells from the blood constituent sought to be reduced in population and irradiating the treated blood with UV radiation so that the radiation impinges upon the constituent in the presence of an effective amount of a dissolved photoactive chemical agent specific and capable when activated by the UV radiation of forming photo-adducts with blood constituent receptor sites, to thereby effect chemical bonding between the photoactivated chemical agent and the receptor sites.
(11) U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,889; Edelson; "Method and System for Externally Treating the Blood"; wherein in a system for treating blood from a subject to reduce the functioning population of a blood constituent by associating and reacting the constituent with a photoactive agent including means for receiving blood and subjecting it to a density gradient for separating red blood cells from the blood constituents, and preferentially impinging UV radiation upon the blood constituent to react an associated photoactive agent with the blood constituent.
(12) U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,521; Edelson; "Method and System for Externally Treating the Blood"; wherein a chemical agent that is useful for reducing the population of a selected blood constituent having receptor sites comprises a carrier having a strong affinity for the receptor sites on or in the selected blood constituents and a photoactive agent physically incorporated within or chemically bound to the carrier moiety to interfere with the metabolism of the selected blood constituent when activated with UV radiation.
(13) U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,140; Lee et al.; "Irradiation Chamber for Photoactivation Patient Treatment System"; wherein a removable UV light ray assembly for use in a photoactivatable agent, patient treating system wherein photoactivatable agents in contact with patient blood cells are irradiated extracorporeally and then returned to the patient.
(14) U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,705; Stinson; "Apparatus and Method for Irradiating Cells"; wherein an apparatus for irradiating cells with UV light includes a UV light source and an outer cylinder surrounding the UV light source with a hollow tubing wrapped around the outer peripheral surface of the outer cylinder whereby suspended cells are transported within the hollow tubing so that the cells can be irradiated by the UV light source.
(15) U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,925; Gilmore, Jr. et al.; "Photopheresis Blood Treatment"; wherein portable apparatus is worn by the patient and blood circulating within a treatment station is irradiated with rays with continuous blood flow through the treatment station in a closed loop path.
(16) U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,221; Wolf, Jr. et al.; "Systems for Eradicating Contaminants Using Photoactive Materials in Fluids Like Blood"; wherein the blood is constricted into a relatively narrow, arcuately shaped flow path into a radiation chamber that directs radiation from one or more sources into the blood.
(17) U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,594; Castle; "Extra-Corporeal Blood Access, Sensing and Radiation Methods and Apparatuses"; wherein blood is treated with radiation in a system in which an apparatus includes one or more access ports in tubing through which blood flows with treatment and/or analysis windows disposed adjacent, within or over the ports.
(18) U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,738; Stinson; "Method for Irradiating Cells"; wherein a method for irradiating cells with UV light includes a UV light source and an outer cylinder surrounding the UV light source with a hollow tubing wrapped around the outer peripheral surface of the outer cylinder whereby suspended cells are transported within the hollow tubing so that the cells can be irradiated by the UV light source. An inner cylinder can be positioned inside the outer cylinder between the UV light source and the outer cylinder and ventilating means may be employed to maintain a substantially constant temperature.
Notwithstanding the advances made in blood irradiation as represented by the foregoing U.S. patents, there is a need for improvements in at least the cuvette employed in the irradiation stations, the manner of housing the pump and irradiation station and improving the availabe range of UV wavelength output to the irradiation station from the UV light source.